The present invention relates to a massage apparatus for massaging the body of a user, and more specifically to a mattress-type massage apparatus for massaging the entire body of a user lying thereon.
An example of this mattress-type massage apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,516. In this conventional massage apparatus, an enclosure in the form of a mattress contains therein a rigid base plate, a pair of rigid guide rails arranged parallel to each other on the base plate, and a massage roller capable of reciprocating along the guide rails. In using such an apparatus, therefore, a user can have a massage by lying on the enclosure while the massage roller reciprocates along the guide rails.
However, the user will not be able to have his whole body massaged by the massage apparatus with this construction while lying thereon unless the guide rails and the base plate are longer than the stature of the user. Thus, the enclosure needs to be at least two meters long, making the massage apparatus fair-sized. When not in use, therefore, the massage apparatus is very obstructive as it requires a large space for storage. Owing to its elongate structure, moreover, the massage apparatus is too bulky to carry about.